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7 August 2026

Liverpool have shown significant belief in Andoni Iraola’s capacity to improve the squad he has taken over, but there is a growing case that the club’s new head coach needs greater backing in the transfer market.

Paul Joyce of The Times has reported that Liverpool’s senior decision-makers remain convinced Iraola can unlock the unused potential in a group that performed well below expectations last season. That confidence appears to be shaping Fenway Sports Group’s strategy as the Premier League season draws nearer.

Liverpool have taken this kind of stance before and have been proved right. However, the situation inherited by Iraola is far less comfortable.

As Joyce wrote:

“Minor tweaks do not feel like a sensible option now, however.”

Liverpool ended last season in fifth place, lost nearly one-third of their Premier League matches and struggled in basic areas of their performances. That decline eventually led to Arne Slot losing his job on May 30.

Iraola has therefore stepped into a major rebuilding task.

Joyce’s judgement feels apt:

“The breadth of work the Basque must undertake feels vast.”

Liverpool have previously gained from ignoring calls to make unnecessary signings.

Adrián and 16-year-old Harvey Elliott arrived in the summer of 2019, while Federico Chiesa was the only senior signing in 2024. Liverpool then went on to win the Premier League after both of those transfer windows.

Continuity was logical in 2019. Jürgen Klopp had assembled an outstanding squad that had just won the Champions League and was moving towards its peak.

Slot also benefited from continuity when he took charge in 2024, winning the Premier League in his first season.

Liverpool’s position in 2026 feels very different.

Victor Muñoz and Jérémy Jacquet are the two main arrivals so far this summer, while Liverpool’s efforts to improve their attacking options have become complicated.

A package worth €100million was put forward for Yan Diomandé, with €80million guaranteed and €20million in add-ons. RB Leipzig wanted a figure closer to €130million, and the winger eventually moved to Real Madrid for €125million plus a further €15million in add-ons.

Liverpool then switched their focus to Bradley Barcola.

Paris Saint-Germain are said to value Barcola at between €150million and €170million. Liverpool believe that price is too high, while there is also interest in Barcola’s 18-year-old PSG team-mate Ibrahim Mbaye.

The need to bring in another winger has become even more pressing after Mohamed Salah’s move to Trabzonspor.

Liverpool’s position cannot fairly be simplified into FSG being unwilling to spend.

Joyce reports that spending since May 2025 could reach £550million, with around £225million recovered through player sales.

Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kerkez represented huge investment last summer. Liverpool believe those players are still among the best talents available and expect major improvement in Iraola’s first season.

Yet Joyce makes an important point about the squad’s overall build:

“That feels remarkable and brings scrutiny on how that money has been apportioned.”

That may turn out to be the central issue.

Liverpool could quite easily have spent another £100million on Barcola and still gone into the season with valid concerns over their defensive depth.

Iraola has been appointed in part because Liverpool believe his coaching can deliver improvement.

During the club’s pre-season tour of the United States, the former Bournemouth head coach spoke about the importance of creating a dependable tactical base.

“We have to have a system that gives us a floor,” he said. “So even if we don’t play incredibly well, we are not having our best day as football players, there is a system behind us that will give us a high floor.

“Let’s raise our floor and when we are playing amazingly, it looks incredible. After that, you have to trust your players and, in this case, it is easy because I have very good players.”

Liverpool badly need that floor to be raised after last season.

Perhaps the most worrying area of Liverpool’s current squad is the defence.

Iraola has 24 first-team players, although Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Jacquet are all returning from long-term injuries at different stages.

Joe Gomez will miss the start of the season because of another muscle issue.

That means Virgil van Dijk, now 35, is currently the only centre-back Iraola can rely on.

Liverpool have invested heavily in Jacquet and Leoni, two players the club regard as among Europe’s brightest young central defenders. Neither, though, has played in the Premier League or the Champions League.

There is also important context to Jacquet’s arrival. Liverpool agreed that deal while expecting Ibrahima Konaté to stay at Anfield. Contract talks later broke down and Konaté departed on a free transfer.

Bradley’s injury has been known about since January, while Gomez’s repeated fitness troubles are far from new. Joyce reports that Liverpool are likely to target one player who can cover both centre-back and right-back.

Time is running out.

Joyce’s warning about Liverpool’s approach is especially notable:

“if Iraola does not manage to manoeuvre Liverpool into a position where they can be competing for major honours, then FSG’s stance (and Edwards’s departing insistence that the club is in a strong position) will have been left horribly exposed.”

That is the gamble Liverpool are making.

Iraola was hired because of his ability to improve players, organise teams and build a clear tactical identity.

As Joyce concludes:

“Iraola was recruited as someone who can improve players. That is all well and good, but a few more to work with will greatly help his cause.”

From the viewpoint of a Liverpool supporter, this report should create both excitement about Iraola and real concern about the burden being placed on him.

There is serious quality in this squad.

Isak and Wirtz should become foundational players. Ekitike has enormous potential, while Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Kerkez and Cody Gakpo are all capable of delivering far more than they did last season.

Iraola’s coaching could have a huge impact.

His remarks about establishing a tactical “floor” are especially interesting because Liverpool’s poorest displays last season lacked exactly that. Too often, the side looked exposed once games became chaotic.

Yet coaching cannot fix everything.

Van Dijk effectively being the only dependable centre-back on the eve of the season should worry everyone. He remains an outstanding defender, but he is 35 and cannot reasonably be expected to hold the entire structure together on his own.

Liverpool knew Bradley had suffered a serious injury in January. They knew Gomez had ongoing fitness issues. They also knew Konaté’s contract position carried major risk.

That is why another defensive signing feels essential rather than optional.

Barcola would be a hugely exciting addition, especially after Salah’s departure, and Mbaye could be another exceptional investment for Liverpool’s future. However, the squad still needs balance.

FSG have spent heavily. The question is no longer simply whether Liverpool spend enough. It is whether that investment has created a squad capable of competing across every competition.

Iraola deserves the opportunity to show why Liverpool wanted him.

Improving players should be an advantage Liverpool use, rather than an excuse to leave obvious weaknesses unaddressed.

If Liverpool sign a top winger and a versatile defender before the window shuts, the look of this squad changes significantly.

If they do not, Iraola may find himself carrying responsibility for issues that coaching alone cannot solve.